Water gauge



AP 1934- A. L. AICHER 1,954,466

' WATER GAUGE Filed Jan. 7, 1931 U" wag/4 5 a?! ,1 THi {I I w @i@ \ZZ i4& Z @1,

- sheets of a gauge of the i is to increase the length ottime duringwhich- 'l atented ApnlO, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 1,954,406 WATER GAUGE AlfredL. Aicher,- Philadelphia, Pa.,

Yarnall-Waring Company, Philadelphia, corporation of Pennsylvania.

assignor' to Pa a ' Application January '1, 1931, serial No. 507,176

7 Claims. (01. 73-54) My invention relates to a gauge believed to haveits widest application asa water gauge for continuously showing thewater level within a a line 2--2 of Figure 1.

steam boiler or the like, and relates to the type of gauge that presentsa column of water and.

steam to view through transparent plates, usually front and rear glassplates held to place over a vertical slot in an intermediate metalstruc-- ture that cooperates with the plates to form a 3.3 verticalconduit having pipe connections at top and bottom into the boiler-or thelike (herein designated boiler) above and below the water line.

' Apurpoee of my invention is to provide a gauge 13 or the characterindicated, adapted to easy and inexpensive manufacture and well suitedto the needs of service.

A further purpose is to lengthen the eilective transparency life or theglass plates and mica character indicated, that the plates are adaptedto eflectively disclose the water level oi the column.

A further purpose is to avoid or greatly lessen the engagement of steamcondensate upon the inwardly presented surfaces of the glass. plates andmica sheets of a gauge of the character indicated. A further purpose isto vertically by-pass a gauge column of the character indicated by adirect conduit connection between the steam and water inlet openings,using the by-pass to trap condensate that would otherwise engage andcolumn. r

A further purpose is to place upper and lower gauge compartments of thecharacter indicated upon opposite sides of a conduit by-passing bothcompartments; preferably vertically overlapping the compartments so asto provide simultaneous indicationin both compartments at the normalrange or water levels.-

' A further purpose is. to direct as much of the steam condensate. aspossible through thevertical conduit, .thus eliminating in its directpassage the. wearing action upon the mica facing.

Further purposes will appear in the speciilcation and in the claims.

I have elected to show two only of the dinerentiormso! my invention,selecting forms however --and which well illustrate the principlesinvolved.

' Figure 1 is .55 type or structureembodyinl a desirable arm or cloudthe surface otthe glass and mica or the.

- face of the glass,

that are practical and emcient in operation a front elevation of thesingle gauge.

my invention illustrated diagrammatically as connected to a boiler.

Figure 2 isan enlarged section taken upon the Figure 3 is airontelevation oi the double gauge type of structurf, the viewcorresponding to Figure 1 but showing a somewhat diiierent form.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken uponthe line 4-4 01.Figure 3.

Like numerals refer to like parts in all figures. Describing inillustration and not in limitation and referring to the drawing:-

The gauge shown in Figure 1 comprises a central metal body '5, slottedvertically-at 6 for an intermediate portion of its length, the slothaving front and back glass covers? and 8 and at top and bottom conduitinlets 9 and 10 respectively to pipes 11 and 12 leading into a boiler B,or the like, above and below the water level therein.

The body is recessed at 13 and 14 around oDP (6 site sides of the slotto provide seats ior gaskets 15 and 16, glass plates 7 and 8 and micasheets 25 which loosely fit the recesses and are held to position uponthe gaskets by cover plates 17 and 18 slotted at 19 and 20 in registrywith the slots 80. of the body and preferably outwardly flaring at 21 tobetter admit the light and vision to the glass covered column.

The cover-plates are desirably recessed at 22 around the slot to looselyfit the glass plates, suitas able gaskets 23 being placed betweenthemetal cover plates and the glass plates, and the cover plates areclamped together upon the intermediate members by suitable Iasteningssuch as bolts,

studsor screws 24. The intermediate members include the gaskets, 23, theglass plates 7 and 8,

the mica sheets 25, the gaskets 15 and 16 and the body 5. v

' Water .gauges' having back and front glass plates such as 7 and 8 heldin position over a vertical slot by back and front cover plates 17 and18 are old in the art, as is also the use or gaskets on each side of theglass plates.

Gauge glasses of this character have in the past I however given a gooddeal of trouble from loss or transparency due to clouding at theinterior surthe gauges being very sati'stactory when new but with usebecoming gradually so cloudedas to make their indications more and.

more uncertain and finally. invisible. w

with the advent of higher steam and temperatures, the mica racing hasbeen found to ,be a good protection to. the glass surfacesfbut withsteam pressures and temperatures still on the increase, it isadvantageous to lay-pass the eliminating the pounding efiect upon themica "and glass. l

My invention is directed to lessening the early clouding of the insideof the mica and glass, principally by lessening the quantity of flow ofcondensate that engages the interior surface of the mica.

I provide a longitudinal conduit 26 between the upper and lowerconnections 9 and 10, the convduit or bore being offset from andby-passing the downwardly flowing condensate .from the visible columnbetween the glass plates 7 and&

- In Figure l the conduit 26 is connected laterally with the visiblecolumn along the length of the column and catches the condensate fromsteam piping above the gauge, thereby preventing this condensate fromflowing directly over the interior of the mica sheets 25.

In my preferred form illustrated in- Figures 3 and 4, the body 27 isboredlongitudinally M28 'and is provided with upper and lower stepportions 29 and 30 upon opposite sides of the bore.

Each step portion is vertically slotted at 6' to provide an interior foragauge section, the slots covered with glass, plates '31 exactly asalready described in and 2.

The slots are connected to the bore attop and the gauge illustrated inFiguresl ably have considerable vertical overlap, to insure continuousvertical visibility.

An overlap is used for this purpose and the gauge is placed so that themiddle of the overlapping portions of the gauges is at about the normalwater level, so that normal water levels showsimultaneously in bothgauges.

- This has an additional advantage that the portion of the gauge mostused and soonest clouded is visible simultaneously on both columns.

.Another very great advantage of the gauge shown in Figures 3 and 4 liesin the fact that the glass.

condensate from the steam pipe 11' at the top goes down the by-passingbore 28 and does -not flow upon the portion oi. the gauge containing Inview 01' my invention and disclosure variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled 'in the art, to obtain all or part oi the benefits of myinvention without copying I the structure sho and I, therefore, claimall spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described such in so far as they fall within the reasonablecut is:

the-slot respectively, near the top and bottom thereof and having aconduit between the inlets by-passing the slot, in combination withtrans-- a parent plates held to place over the front and over the backof the slot and cooperating with the walls of the slot to iorma waterpassage.

bottom at 32 and 33 or 32' and 33', and. prei'er- A my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patopen to vision or lightat front and rear through the respective plates. 7

2. In a gauge of the character indicated, abody longitudinallyperforated for connection at top and bottom respectively to pointsaboveand below the water 'of a boiler, the body having laterally spacedvertical slots through its thickness on opposite sides of thelongitudinal perforation and transparent cover plates held to place overopposite sides of the slots, each 'slot having a connection at its topand bottom respectively to the conduit. I

'3. In a gauge of the character indicated, a body longitudinallyperforated for connection at top and bottom respectively to points aboveand below the water of a boiler, the body having laterally spacedvertical slots through its thickness on opposite sides of thelongitudinal perforation and transparent cover plates held to place overopposite sides of the slots, each slot having a connection at its topand bottom respectively to the conduit, and one slot verticallyoverlapping the other.

4. In a water level indicator, walls containing a vertically extendingpassage connected above and below to the body in which the water levelis to be indicated, a plurality of water gauges-having transparentreading-faces, one gauge extending above another and the other gaugeextending below the one, withintermediate overlapping .portions andlateral connections from the vertical passageto the tops and hottoms ofthe respective gauges.

- 5. In a boiler water level indicator, a metal body vertically slottedand having a'vertical passage to one side of the vertical slot laterallycommunicating with the vertical slot at the top and bottom of the slot,a transparent plate on the front of the slot, a transparent plate on theback 01 the slot and connections from the top and bottom of the verticalpassage to a boiler or the like. I I I I 6. In a boiler water levelindicator, a metal body having laterally spaced overlapping verticalslots, one extending above another and the other extending below theone, walls forming avertical passage through the body to one 'side ofeach verticalslot, laterally communicating with each slot at the top andthe bottom of each slot,

a transparent plate on the front of each slot, a transparent plate onthe back of each slot and connections from the top and the bottom of thevertical passage to a boiler or the like.

other extending below the one, walls forming a vertical passage throughthe body to one sideof each vertical slot, and between the verticalslots,

laterally communicating with each slot at the top and the bottom of eachslotfa transparent plate onthe front of each slot, a transparent plateon the back of each slot and connections from the top and the bottm ofthe vertical passage to a boiler or the. like., l

L. rcana.

